


Almost Lover (Yours to Hold)

by Markirya



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-18 22:52:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12397899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markirya/pseuds/Markirya
Summary: They hold hands and kiss and act like lovers do. They actually love each other as lovers do. Then again, this is Kevin Smith and Echizen Ryoma we're talking about, so I wonder, is their relationship the same as every other couple's? Most probably not.





	Almost Lover (Yours to Hold)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ! I know I'm all over the place with my fandoms D: ADD leave me alone!  
> So, this oneshot I wrote many years ago and posted it on FF.net - I'm trying to reupload those fics I think can still de salvaged (!!) from my past, revised and edited, of course.  
> Also, I love this pairing! even it's not really a popular one, I'm a sucker for pairings with possible history since waaay back.  
> Hope you enjoy! Any mistakes are my own, and feedback is more than welcome.  
> \- Title comes from A Fine Frenzy's "Almost Lover", and Skillet's "Yours to Hold".

 

  
There were two men on the bed, sleeping.  
One of them, the blond male, was enjoying his first day back in Japan, after three years away in his home town in America. Not like he considered it that: he had long since learned that home was where the heart was, and his was lying right here, in this beautiful land thousands of kilometres away from the place he was conceived in. Japan was his heaven, his sanctuary, it was the culmination of his every wish, and no harm could reach him here. In this over-populated island he was safe, from his father and his alcohol-induced abuse, from the cold, deserted streets of his childhood neighbourhood.  
In truth, it wasn't about what he was able to leave behind, but about all of that he could come home to.  
  
The second man was happy, simple as that. His days had been troublesome and long, his heart and soul yearning for the shape and build of the body of the boy he had to leave behind three years ago. He had come to Japan on his own for various reasons, neither of which seemed important right now. He had known and loved the boy besides him basically for all his life -though he didn't know the latter at the time- and he protected him from bullies when he was young, and kept him out of trouble when they were older. The time came when that did more wrong than good, seeing as the blond resented him for treating him like a baby.  
He'd gone to Japan by the time the issue got too big to handle without consequences he knew they would regret eventually. Japan, the country where his only remaining relative, his cousin, lived. He had left an envelope for the blond to find, with a letter inside that said to look for him when he was ready.  
Exactly three years and twenty-three days had gone by since then.  
  
One of them had just woken up after their nap, and after a while, the blurry shadows he saw evened out to form the outline of his companion. Breathing in and giving a contented sigh, he blinked his golden eyes awake to take in his surroundings.  
Echizen Ryoma was aware of his own body as it lay on the bed, covers going up to mid-abdomen. A surprisingly thin, pale arm was draped across his slight waist, and he let his eyes follow its trail until it revealed the limb's owner; right by his side, and right out of one of those fantasies you cling to and give up at the same time, Echizen saw the equally pale body of Kevin Smith.  
  
Echizen was deeply grateful that Kevin was still blissfully asleep. This way, he could take the time to think and get his thoughts in order; maybe now he'd be able to fully process this scene he'd found himself a part of. Nearly a minute went by and he'd gotten nowhere besides acknowledging that he wouldn't be able to keep all his masks intact, not after three years. The very fact that he was lying here with this beautiful man in his arms was condemning his usually unshakable façade. There was nothing for it, his heart had been damned for too many years to survive this man's reappearance in his life.  
When Echizen had left for Japan, and with everything in his life, he'd never wanted to have anyone close again. At first, he could admit he was afraid of getting attached to the people he was going to meet, felt a bit of a traitor when he realised the Regulars had managed to wormed their way into his heart despite his efforts. _Kevin_ was his best friend, and that he would remain even if he had to wait for years. He'd declared it with the passion that only teenagers could manage to harvest,     
It had actually taken years, but now-    
  
Echizen ran calloused fingers up Kevin's arm, squeezing his shoulder gently but firmly. He felt a sudden desperate need to see, to _feel_ his best friend alive and close by, reassurance that it was real. Captivating blue eyes were slowly unveiled as Kevin smiled fondly at the feel of the warm body beside him, as though they'd been this way forever. As though this was natural, lying next to your estranged best friend whom you haven't communicated with for years. Maybe it was.  
Shifting, the blond turned on his side, facing him, and started drawing lazy patterns on Echizen's flat chest, content to maintain the comfortable silence between them. Even after all these years, Echizen was able to understand what those eyes were telling him.  
_'I know things are far from settled. Please, let's enjoy this moment… just a little longer.'_  
  
Most questions had been answered the night before. There had been tears, cursing, laughing, a lot of kissing and snuggling, all in a desperate attempt to get reacquainted with each other's bodies, which were so differently shaped since the last time they had enjoyed the other's company. All it had taken was a single touch, and suddenly everything was colours and shapes and sounds. Everything was skin and hair and lips and heat. They'd fallen asleep as the burst of feelings and memories overwhelmed their senses and took a toll on their bodies, all tangled limbs and sheets, holding each other as though either of them could float away by the morning.  
  
Kevin wasn't exactly avoiding the conversation, and he soon realised that he couldn't fully lose himself in this blissful morning by his best friend; there was doubt still plaguing Kevin's mind. One question he had asked the night before which had remained unanswered, expertly deflected by the Japanese prodigy in such a way that Kevin hadn't noticed until that moment. He hated to ruin this moment, but he knew that this was as good -or bad- a time as any.  
“Ryoma?”  
“Hmm?” Said boy didn't open his eyes, he just hummed and threaded his fingers through the blond strands that fanned across Kevin's shoulder blades now that the usual ponytail was undone.  
“That Fuji guy, the one you were with when I arrived, you were together, weren't you?” Kevin's voice wasn't really asking a question as much as stating a fact he wanted corroborated.  
Tanned fingers stopped moving for a second before they resumed their motion.  
“Will you be mad if I said 'yes'?” Ryoma softly answered after a while.  
The blond struggled to sound sincere, “No- well, I was jealous, and he looked so smitten and-”  
“Stop.” Echizen rolled his eyes, but otherwise kept quiet, now tracing patterns into Kevin's skin.  
Kevin wasn't easily pacified, once the doubt had been planted on his mind it had started to grow and grow. He wanted to be offended but all he felt was stupid. How could he say anything to his beautiful friend when _he_ had been the one who had pushed him away, who had been stubborn enough to let three years go by before he got over himself and flew to Japan. He felt uncomfortably selfish, but he couldn't honestly deny some part of him had dreamed of Echizen waiting exclusively for him. It was when he saw them together at the park that the fear of being too late had become real and suffocating. He'd felt tiny and foolish, and he'd been about to cry when his Ryoma had caught sight of him.  
   
“But, Ryoma... you can't deny he is hot. And he is tall- taller than me- and, and, well…"  
Kevin sighed, frustrated. He didn't know how to go about it. He was unusually tongue-tied, wasn't sure how to tell the boy besides him how stressed out he felt when he saw Fuji Syuusuke holding hands with Echizen, and how attached the blue-eyed male had seemed. It made him, insecure and he hated the feeling. He sighed again.  
“Man, was I jealous, insanely so. I just couldn't stand seeing you with him. You- fuck, I hate it, I do, but you just looked so _good_ together.”  
Echizen Ryoma finally opened his eyes, slowly revealing golden orbs that stared with affection at the young man around his arms, even as blue eyes avoided his gaze. He smiled as he recognized how Kevin's voice was strained at the end, thick with something he knew the blond would never admit to, and felt once more a comforting warmth spread through his chest.  
He shuffled in such way that he was now partly hovering over Kevin, so he could look at him clearly. He had his moment to revel in the jealousy, but now he wanted Kevin to understand.  
“Oi, Kevin”, he stared at him until the pale blue eyes were once again facing him.  
“Now, listen to me, Kevin. I won't say Fuji was a mistake- don't, keep looking at me- I won't say it was a mistake because it wouldn't be fair to him. He was a great companion and has a brilliant mind," he hesitated for a second but kept going, "you were gone, Kevin, for fucking three whole years. But don't misunderstand me. The moment I saw you- I never stopped waiting for you to get over yourself.”  
  
Neither boy would ever admit to the tightness in their throats, or how hard their hearts were pounding on their chests. They did, however, feel complete in a way they never had before. It felt as though, with those words, the invaluable last piece of the puzzle had been placed, something was broken and something had changed, forged again. Those words were the definite chance of something more than the friendship they had always shared.  
  
After all they had been through, all the happiness and mishaps, they were fine again and it felt so unbelievably good it was overwhelming.  
A couple of minutes- or hours, who cares- later, Kevin stretched lazily on his back, arms folded behind his and a slightly goofy grin stretching his lips. Echizen, in turn, rested on his side by his partner with a smirk playing on his mouth.  
“Kevin.”  
A slight jolt told him Kevin had heard. Echizen, in response, rolled over him again, placing his hands on both sides of the American teen's shoulders as Kevin placed his arms back by his sides. Echizen had him pinned under his body, lifted so it barely touched the blond's skin teasingly. He leaned in until his eyes were about to cross over, so he could still stare at the light blue orbs and admire the way they grew wide as his breath caught.  
Kevin shivered in response to the contact.  
“What is it?”, he asked, trying-and failing- to look unaffected.  
There was a short pause in which neither boy did breathe, and Kevin Smith watched in awe as sincerity pooled in gorgeous mossy-golden eyes, and his trademark smirk faded until it almost, _almost_ , looked like a smile. Impressive.  
“I love you.”  
  
The world stood still for a moment and then shrunk until it just held both of them and barely enough oxygen.  
  
Now _that_ completely took his breath away, entirely. Kevin felt- well, he didn't know, he felt wonderful, exceedingly fantastic, awesome, happy, shocked, very shocked. What to say? Well, yeah, they had been together, since, well, forever, and at least he knew he would die if Echizen left him, he was everything to the blond. He knew how much he had wished every single night for three years that the Japanese shorty was there with him. Heaven knows, they held hands, they kissed and hugged, they slept together and, well, they also _slept together_ a couple of times. As friends who loved each other.  
Still, even through all those years, never were these words uttered in any context, they just didn't. Suddenly, when Echizen said it with _that_ voice and _that_ facial expression, Kevin felt as though he had been waiting on those words all his life and he'd just found out.  
“Really?” was the breathless, wild-eyed and reply, for once not bothered with how stunned he'd appear. He hadn't realized how much he yearned for those feelings he never knew he felt. They suddenly felt so real and strong and necessary. Consequences, if there were any, could just go to hell, or more realistically, dealt with in a (long) while.  
  
Echizen chuckled. He could practically read those thoughts off Kevin's eyes. In fact, he had felt almost exactly the same things when he'd come to the conclusion that he loved the teen currently beneath him. It had been a bitter-sweet moment, for it was Fuji Syuusuke who had led him to understand the true depth of their relationship. They became best friends after that, a match of wits and smarts, Fuji and Echizen. Echizen wasn't sure how the teen prodigy knew half the things he knew, but he was damned grateful he did. Maybe he knew Fuji had romantic feelings, however small, towards him but their love was too important for that; they became the other's anchor. They walked hand in hand, and had sleepovers. That was simply the kind of closeness they needed but never found or looked for in anyone else. They were fine.  
As he answered he couldn't keep the mirth from his voice.  
“Yes, really. What about it? Are you gonna hit me or something?”  
Kevin had a strangely unreadable face as he brought a slightly cold hand up, cupping Echizen's cheek and forcing their faces -their mouths, specifically- closer together, in angle that screamed 'kiss!'.  
“Actually, no...” Kevin trailed of for a second, as he let his lips brush ever so slightly against the lips of his best friend. 'My best friend and my lover' he thought, content.  
“I might kiss you, though.”  
  
Something fluttered in chests, and eyes fluttered close, and all of a sudden they were kissing. It was unclear who took the leap first, but both of them continued it, a kiss that started out rather urgently and hungry, and oddly enough, turned softer as seconds tick-tocked by. Eventually, they found themselves barely touching each other, but it was such a sweet feeling, such a sweet moment, it felt as though they were drowning in themselves.  
After a little while, the Japanese player rolled off  Kevin and rested his cheek on his chest, satisfied yet entirely too aware there he hadn't gotten a similar answer from the one he was holding on to. He could and would wait, though, he was way too happy that his feelings were positively received. Being accepted was a wonderful feeling, and he was sure it was just a matter of time until the words were said back to him. He knew he loved the American boy, to an extent he still couldn't fully comprehend, and he knew he was loved back. Thus, one thing was clear in his young adult's mind: he was willing to take anything Kevin was willing to offer. He would not force the issue, or pressure him. He would wait as long as he had to for Kevin to come to grips with his feelings, to feel comfortable saying those words they both knew he felt. Knowing those feelings existed was enough for now.    
He knew he wanted everything with his best friend, always, and that wasn't something that was easy to accept. Echizen was lucky enough to have Fuji by his side to help him through the process, but he knew Kevin didn't have someone back in America that would've done that for him. They were together now, and Echizen wasn't planning on letting Kevin go; he would be by his side as long as the blond teen wanted him there.    
  
Kevin gently slid his fingers through Echizen's soft hair, deep in thought. He knew he hadn't given an answer, and he knew Echizen was thinking about the fact he'd stayed quiet, which had terrified him until he felt the passionate determination pouring from golden eyes.  
Stupid words. He hadn't remained silent because he had doubts, hell no, it's just- well. He knew with everything that he was that he loved Echizen, that he never again wanted to be separated from him, that he was desperate to share their lives and make up for the time he had spent doubting himself, hating himself. This was too important to be anything less than forever.  
It was because of this that he hesitated. These were huge feelings he was just now com in to terms with and he really didn't want to risk jinxing it, this whole situation. It was far too perfect to be rash and make statements before he was able to fully seize this growing feeling he felt on the pit of his belly, the one that screamed 'I love you, Echizen Ryoma!' and urged him to shout it out loud.  
But he would wait, just a little more. Like he had said before, this was too special to be taken lightly, and he didn't dare to think about what could happen if it all went wrong. Echizen deserved the full weight of his love in those words, he deserved to feel the same beautiful feeling that had invaded him when he'd heard those three words flowing in Echizen's sweet voice. He deserved it. _They_ deserved it.  
  
“Just a little longer, okay?” Kevin's voice was barely there, soft and hopeful.  
It was obvious they hadn't need of any more words to understand each other. Echizen loved Kevin, and that made the blond so happy, everything felt so surreal. He kissed the top of his head and fell back down onto the pillow.  
Echizen only hugged him tighter. His heart already felt lighter, he could feel himself being wrapped in a warmth that only came from being cherished beyond reason. Yes, Kevin loved him. Words could come when they would as long as he could read them in those eyes.  
“Just a little longer...” was the last thing the Japanese tennis prodigy heard, in the whispered voice of his favourite person, as he drifted to sleep in the arms of the one he loved. 

_'It's okay. We already have forever'_


End file.
